Richard Perez – 5/31/08

Richard Perez – 5/31/08

Richard Perez, the President and CEO of The Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, is the 18th President to lead the 2,000 member organization in its 114-year history.

Perez, a native of San Antonio, has been with the Chamber since November, 2007. He brings experience as an owner/manager of a family-owned business to his position. Prior to serving at The Chamber, Richard served as the two-time San Antonio City Councilman for District 4, from 2004 – 2007. Richard’s reputation for integrity and his skill at bringing consensus to solving issues at the City Council helped him become recognized as one of San Antonio’s bright leaders for the future.

While on the Council, Richard

Chaired the San Antonio Military Transformation Task Force – which continues to help facilitate and implement post-BRAC plans, the largest single development project in the history of the City, worth up to $2 Billion in construction, and adding thousands of jobs for San Antonians,

Served as the point-person in recruitment efforts to attract, and negotiate the contract bringing City Manager Sheryl Sculley to San Antonio,

Chaired the Transportation Policy Board of the San Antonio-Bexar County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), which was charged with setting policy that identified, prioritized, and allocated over $100 Million annually in state and federal funding for the construction of roadway improvements, planning studies, and the implementation of various multi-modal initiatives such as bus rapid transit (BRT) and commuter rail/rail relocation efforts for the Bexar County region.

Served as senior City representative, with the County Judge and Greater Chamber President in negotiating the relocation of a new National Security Agency (NSA) office in San Antonio with 500 employees.

Served on the City’s International Economic Development strategic efforts by acting as a City Ambassador via travels to India, Mexico, and Japan, and led two trade missions to India, resulting in a sister city agreement with Chennai, India in 2008.

While these impressive accomplishments describe his success in crossing political lines to ensure the best results for the City of San Antonio, he is most respected for his open door policy and his willingness to listen and respond to the needs of all citizens of the community.

Perez brings regional and national service to his position at The Chamber. He was appointed the Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development by the Clinton Administration from March 1998 – January 2001. Prior to that Perez served as Assistant to the City Manager for the City of Laredo.

Perez received a bachelor’s degree with a major in urban and regional planning from Texas State University and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Kansas. Perez is married to Judy Lynn (Patterson) and they are the parents of three children: Clarissa, Elissa and Ricardo Antonio. He has deep roots in San Antonio and has lived on the south side of town for 39 years.

About the author:

I took early retirement in 1995 from Kodak and I have been in the real estate business since then. During my Kodak career my family lived in six states and we owned thirteen homes. I held positions as Food Trade Manager, Attractions Manager for Florida, Director of Sales Promotion, National Account Manager to HEB Grocery Company and National Sales Manager – US Military – Worldwide.
In the twelve years since I retired from Kodak, I’ve been in the real estate business. My entry into the business was through two major agencies; one a local upscale boutique company and the other a very large local operation of a national franchise. I found both (plus most others in the business) to be more oriented towards gross sales and less towards taking care of the needs of the consumer. As a result, I formed my own company. I have three agents besides myself in the company and two staff personnel. Approximately ninety percent of our business comes from direct referrals plus we represent all of the relocating employees for three corporations.
Each week I host the area real estate show, Real Estate Focus, on NewsTalk 930 KLUP, Saturdays at 11:00am. The show also streams live on my web site , http://www.HeartofTexasRealty.com and on http://www.KLUP.com. In addition, Bjorn Dybdahl, owner of Bjorn’s Home Entertainment, http://www.Bjorns.com and I host the San Antonio Movers and Shakers Show that airs at 10:00 am each Saturday from the same station and web sites. The real estate show deals with area real estate information and the SA Movers and Shakers show honors the education, business, civic, and public leaders who keep the entrepreneurial spirit alive in our city.